VZCZCXRO1583
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1007/01 2421040
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291040Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8383
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5071

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001007 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PREL PHUM PGOV VM
SUBJECT: POLICE DETAIN SEVEN CATHOLICS INVOLVED IN PROTESTS OVER 
PROPERTY IN HANOI 
 
REF: A) HANOI 980 B) HANOI 446 C) HANOI 160 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Local police on August 28 arrested four individuals in 
connection with ongoing Catholic land-dispute demonstrations in 
Hanoi's Thai Ha parish; another three were later taken into custody 
after they protested the arrests.  The state-controlled press has 
continued a daily drumbeat of criticism, accusing the Catholics of 
unlawful acts.  Thai Ha parish priests told us that they are angry 
about the arrests and, in particular, the negative press coverage. 
Neither side appears willing to compromise on the issue of who owns 
the land near the parish, and the church doesn't seem willing to end 
its demonstrations anytime soon.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On August 28, Poloff visited Thai Ha parish to view the 
site and to speak with parish priests and protestors involved in 
this most recent round of demonstrations involving disputed land 
(reftels). 
 
Story Behind the Story 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Thai Ha Church is one of the larger Catholic churches 
in Hanoi and belongs to the Redemptorist religious order.  According 
to parish priests, the government confiscated all 15 acres of 
church-owned land in 1962, except for the property where the actual 
church building was located.  (The priests dispute a government 
claim that control of the property had been signed over in 1961, 
insisting that the signed documents were simply a survey.)  The 
government converted some of the monastery buildings into a large 
hospital, while the remaining parcels of land were given to 
state-owned enterprises (SOEs).  In 2007, the parish built a new 
prayer chapel on an adjoining property with the tacit blessing of 
the SOEs, but without direct government approval.  Local authorities 
have now threatened to take back the land where the new chapel and 
home are located arguing that they never gave approval.  The main 
piece of land in dispute is separated from the rest of the church 
property by the hospital and is about a block away from the main 
church and the new prayer chapel. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The protests began in January (Ref C) after one of the 
SOEs began construction on the disputed site.  The protests quieted 
down during the Tet Holiday while the church awaited the decision of 
municipal leaders regarding returning the land, but resumed in April 
after the city government refused the Thai Ha church's claim (Ref 
B).  Finally, after hearing rumors that the SOEs had begun selling 
it to individuals for housing development, the priests decided to 
restart the demonstrations again on August 14 (Ref A).  In the most 
recent round of protests, the demonstrators destroyed a small brick 
wall (about 2-3 feet tall) on the side of the property adjacent to 
the street. 
 
Protests Continue and Talking with Demonstrators 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Since the restart of the demonstrations, parish priests 
have led twice-daily prayer sessions at the disputed site, which 
attract on average more than 250 people, sometimes more.  Upon 
visiting the site, we saw an orderly group of over 100 individuals, 
primarily women and ethnic minorities, praying and singing under two 
awnings set up by the demonstrators to shield them from the hot sun. 
 In the middle of the property the church has put together a small 
makeshift altar with a statue of the Virgin Mary, a cross, incense 
burners, candles and other pictures of the Virgin Mary.  Since the 
protestors tore down the small brick wall on August 15 there is no 
barrier to enter the property.  On the opposite end of the property, 
we saw 30 policemen sitting under an awning observing the 
protestors.  We spoke with several of the demonstrators who claimed 
to have had family members or friends detained for questioning on 
August 15.  They said they had not heard from these individuals 
since being detained.  Some of the protestors from outside Hanoi 
claimed to have heard about the protest through the news and decided 
to travel to the site in order to support their Catholic brothers 
and sisters in Hanoi. 
 
Four Arrests + Three More = 7 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The priests informed us that they had just learned that 
the government had on August 27 decided to open a criminal 
investigation into the alleged destruction of property and 
disturbing the peace.  They said that Mr. Le Quang Kien, 63, had 
been detained by police for questioning on the morning of August 28. 
 Mr. Le was later formally arrested and the police also sought to 
question Mr. Le's wife, Mrs. Le Thi Hoi, 61, but she refused to 
leave her home.  She called the parish priests to ask for 
assistance.  The parish sent two priests and two other members of 
 
HANOI 00001007  002 OF 002 
 
 
the parish to assist Mrs. Le. During our meeting, the parish priests 
received several phone calls from the Le home saying she had too 
been arrested.  The priests said that they knew of two other 
individuals, including a member of the Hmong minority, who had been 
detained for questioning that morning as well.  At a press 
conference later in the afternoon, the Hanoi Chief of Police and 
Vice Chair of the Hanoi People's Committee announced that an 
additional three individuals had been taken into custody after they 
joined demonstrations outside the police station where the four were 
being held. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The priests expressed anger that the government had turned 
a civil dispute over who owned the land into a criminal issue.  The 
priests also affirmed that the ten priests at the Thai Ha parish 
stand ready to bear responsibility for their actions.  They insisted 
that parishioners alone will not be sent to jail and that in the 
future they will insist on joining their parishioners in jail. 
 
Press as Cheerleader and Provocateur 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) One of the biggest complaints of the local priests relates 
to the press and the falsehoods that they say have been printed in 
the state-controlled media.  Since the demonstrations began again on 
August 14, daily reports in the local press (print, television and 
radio) have, in fact, been strongly critical of the actions of the 
Thai Ha parish and its parishioners.  "Man on the street" interviews 
have featured neighbors complaining about the Thai Ha parish and 
Catholics complaining about the actions of the parish.  The August 
21 "Voice of Vietnam" went so far as to publish an editorial 
claiming that the actions of the parish priests run counter to the 
teachings of Jesus Christ. 
 
Comment:  It's Just Another Brick in the Wall 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The action taken by parishioners in tearing down the brick 
wall on the disputed property seems to have given the government an 
opening to criticize the church and to intimidate the parishioners 
by criminalizing some of their actions.  As evidenced by the 
high-level participation in today's press conference, local 
authorities are not backing down and may think that they now have 
public opinion on their side in arresting some of the main 
instigators. 
 
MICHALAK